Australian School of Petroleum and Energy Resources, The University of Adelaide

The Australian School of Petroleum and Energy Resources (ASPER) is Australia’s highest ranked and only multidisciplinary school for education, training and research in petroleum, future geoenergy resources, and carbon and hydrogen geostorage.

Nominated project: Foam-based fluid characterisation: an environmentally friendly technology to enhance gas production

Premier's Awards category: Environment (Resources sector)

Due to increasing national gas demand and significant depletion of conventional resources, the industry is moving towards unconventional resources, where fracture stimulation is required.

This project develops and characterises an eco-friendly foam-based fracturing fluid system, which can be effectively applied under harsh reservoir conditions to replace the conventional slickwater.

Experimental and stimulation studies with actual field data were conducted to optimise the performance of fracturing foams. The project outcomes will help industry operators maximise production from stimulation treatments and provide an underground repository for CO₂ capture. Practical issues including high consumption of water, chemical additives, environmental risks from waste disposal, and formation damage including clay swelling are being addressed.

The results of this project have been published in several high-ranking journals including Fuel Journal, Journal
of Petroleum Science & Engineering, and APPEA Journal.